System for processing mass-fabricated items with three-dimensional codes

ABSTRACT

In the processing of mass-produced items that include a three-dimensional code formed therein, a system is provided for automating certain post-manufacturing processing steps. The system includes a printing mechanism that applies ink to the three-dimensional code to form an optically-readable code; a code-reading mechanism that reads the optically readable code and transmits a signal indicative of the code to a database that may be employed for tracking the processed items; and a transport mechanism that moves the items from the printing mechanism to the code-reading mechanism. In one embodiment, the system also includes a liquid agent application mechanism that applies a liquid agent to the items after the optically-readable code is formed. The transport mechanism includes a plurality of pallets on which the items are placed for processing, and that is operable to move the pallets sequentially to the several processing mechanisms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Not Applicable

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of manufacturingmass-fabricated items. More specifically, it relates to a system andmethod for automating a series of post-manufacturing processing stepsfor mass-fabricated items that are provided with three-dimensional codesformed therein, such as molds used to fabricate plastic dental aligners.

2. Background of the Invention

In the production of mass-customized items, the ability to identifyindividual items is important. One example of mass-customized items isplastic orthodontic alignment appliances, as described, for example, inU.S. Pat. No. 5,975,893 and US Patent Application Publication2005/0082703, both of which are commonly assigned to the assignee of thesubject invention, and the disclosures of which are both incorporatedherein by reference. Other examples are prosthetic devices, form-fittinghearing aids, and athletic equipment (such as pads and protectors).

Plastic orthodontic appliances, of the type disclosed in theabove-referenced documents, are made as a set of incremental positionadjustment appliances that are used to realign or reposition a patient'steeth. The series of incremental position adjustment appliances iscustom made for each patient during the fabrication process.

The fabrication process starts with a practitioner (e.g., a dentist)making impressions or casts of the upper and lower dental arches of apatient. The impressions or casts are then sent by the dentist to anorthodontic appliance manufacturing facility. The manufacturing facilitycreates a treatment file from the impressions or casts that includes thetreatment information for the patient. Treatment information includesthe number of stages (i.e. each appliance in the series of incrementalposition adjustment appliances represents a stage) for both the upperand lower jaws that are required for repositioning the patient's teeth,as well as how the patient's teeth move during each stage. The treatmentfile is then sent to the dentist for approval. Upon approval, themanufacturing facility generates 3D CAD models or images of molds formaking the appliances using the treatment file, and then creates themolds using a rapid prototyping process, such as, for example,stereolithography (SLA). The molds are then used to fabricate theappliances. Because each aligner is associated with a unique mold onwhich the aligner is fabricated, for the purposes of this disclosure,the molds themselves are considered to be mass-fabricated custom items.

The SLA process is performed in SLA machines that build polymeric moldsfrom the CAD images or models. Typically, a mass-customized item isidentified by encoding item identification data into a multi-dimensionalbarcode and using an SLA apparatus to make the part with themulti-dimensional (i.e., three-dimensional) barcode embedded therein.See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,627, commonly assigned to theassignee of the subject invention, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

Ink is manually applied to the barcode with a marker so that a barcodereader can accurately read the information encoded therein. Next, arelease agent is manually sprayed onto the molds so that the alignerscan be easily separated from the molds. These process steps involvelaborious manual operations, and therefore entail substantial costs andtime to produce the items. Accordingly, there is a need for an efficientsystem and method to improve productivity by automating as many of thesesteps as possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Broadly, the present invention, in a first aspect, is a system for theautomated processing of items, each of which incorporates informationencoded in a three-dimensional code formed in the item, wherein thesystem comprises a printing mechanism operable to apply an ink medium tothe three-dimensional code to form an optically-readable code; acode-reading mechanism operable to read the optically readable code andto transmit a signal indicative of the code to a database; and atransport mechanism operable to transport the items from the printingmechanism to the code-reading mechanism.

In a second aspect, the present invention may be broadly defined as amethod for the automated processing of items, each of which incorporatesinformation encoded in a three-dimensional code formed in the item,wherein the method comprises (1) applying an ink medium to thethree-dimensional code to render the code optically readable; (2)optically scanning the optically readable code to create an electronicsignal indicative of the code; and (3) transmitting the signal to acomputer database.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features and other features of the present invention willnow be described with reference to the drawings of a preferredembodiment. In the drawings, the same components have the same referencenumerals. The illustrated embodiment is intended to illustrate, but notto limit the invention. The drawings include the following Figures:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an automated processing systems forprocessing information encoded items, in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in cross-section, of a loadingstation of the automated processing system, taken along line 2-2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, showing the loading stationof FIG. 2 in a retracted position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the loading station, taken alongline 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the loading station, taken alongline 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an ink stamping station of theautomated processing system, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed view of a print head, taken at location 7of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is top plan view of a pair of dental aligner molds on a palletafter exiting the first printing station of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a pair of dental aligner molds on a palletafter the second printing station of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a cross-section view of a spraying station of the automatedprocessing system, taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the spraying station, taken alongline 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an elevational view, partly in cross-section, of a barcodereading station of the automated processing system, taken along line12-12 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the barcode reading station, takenalong line 13-13 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a pallet cleaning station of theautomated processing system, taken along line 14-14 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the pallet cleaning station, taken alongline 15-15 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the pallet cleaning station, takenalong line 16-16 of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic view of an alternative embodiment of thesystem of the present invention, in which the stations of the system arearranged linearly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and method for processing itemsthat incorporate information encoded in a three-dimensional coded datamatrix formed in the items, such as, for example, mass-producedcustomized items. The system of the present invention, in a preferredembodiment, is controlled by a software algorithm executed by a computersystem through a local area network, of conventional design, operation,and architecture. In the following detailed description of theinvention, the invention is described primarily in context of a methodfor processing dental aligner molds. However, it should be understoodthat the system and process of the present invention may be employed inthe processing of various other types of mass-customized items and otheritems that carry encoded information in a three-dimensional coded datamatrix, such as a three-dimensional barcode.

Mass-customized items, such as dental aligner molds, may be made by astereolithography (SLA) apparatus, as is known in the art. Items such asmolds may be formed in the SLA process with a three-dimensional barcodeformed on the surface of the item. In the case of dental aligner molds,the barcode is encoded with information that may include, for example,the identity of the patient associated with the mold, which stage in theseries of stages the mold represents, and whether the mold is for theupper or lower dental arch. Once the molds have been completed by theSLA process, they are sent to an automated processing system forpost-manufacture processing that includes a number of discrete steps.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the automated processing system orapparatus 10 for processing mass-customized items 12, particularlydental aligner molds, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. The processing system or apparatus 10 comprises aplurality of small platforms or pallets 14 that are attached by apneumatic pallet-raising mechanism (described below) to a turntable orturret 16 that rotates the pallets 14 sequentially to a plurality ofprocessing stations (described below) to perform a sequence ofprocessing functions in a continuous fashion.

The pallet-raising mechanism, as shown in FIGS. 2-6, comprises a pistonor rod 18, actuated by a pneumatic cylinder 20 supported on a base 22 onwhich the turret or turntable 16 is mounted. One such pallet-raisingmechanism 18, 20 is advantageously provided at each station. The upperend of the piston or rod 18 engages the bottom surface of a platform 24on which the pallet 14 is carried. The platform 24, in turn, is fixed tothe turret or turntable 16 to rotate therewith. Specifically, eachplatform 24 is fixed to the upper end of a pair of outer sleeves 26,each of which is slidably carried on a coaxial tube or rod 28, thebottom end of which is fixed to the turntable 16, and the upper end ofwhich is fixed to a support ring 30 disposed above the turntable 16. Bymeans of the pallet-raising mechanism 18, 20, each pallet 14 may beraised or lifted relative to the turret or turntable 16 to anoperational position at several of the stations, as will be describedbelow, and then lowered to a travel position between stations. A spring32 is fixed between the platform 24 and the turntable 16 to maintain theengagement between the platform 24 and the turntable 16 when theplatform 24 is lowered.

It will be appreciated that the pallet raising mechanism describedherein is exemplary only. Other types of mechanisms for raising andlowering the pallets 14 relative to the turntable or platform 16 willsuggest themselves to those skilled in the arts, such as, for example,electrical and electromagnetic mechanisms.

The stations, as described below, advantageously include the following:a loading station 34, a first printing station 36, a second printingstation 38, a liquid agent application station 40, a barcode readingstation 42, an unloading station 44, and a pallet cleaning station 46.There may also be an extra or “idle” station 48 (advantageously, but notnecessarily, located between the first printing station 36 and thesecond printing station 38) that may be used to perform an additionalstep that may be desirable or necessary in a particular application. Insome applications, the liquid agent application station 40 may not benecessary. In such applications, it may be rendered inoperable oromitted altogether.

The items 12 may be transported by a first conveyor line or belt 50 tothe loading station 34 for loading the items 12 onto a pallet 14. FIGS.2-6 show the loading station 34 as employed in an exemplary embodimentof the invention. The loading station 34 includes a first robotic pickand place mechanism 52 that picks the items 12, either singly or(preferably) in pairs, off the first conveyor belt 50, and delivers themto a pallet 14 that has arrived at the loading station 34, and that hasbeen raised by the raising mechanism 18, 20. The first pick and placemechanism 52 may be of conventional design, well-known in the art, andneed not be described in detail to understand the present invention. Onesuitable robotic device for use as the pick and place mechanism is the“Adept Cobra s800” SCARA robot, manufactured and sold by AdeptTechnology, Inc., of Livermore, Calif. Another suitable robotic devicefor this application is the Sony Model SRX-611 robot. Other equivalentrobotic devices may be found that would be suitable for thisapplication.

Typically, the first pick and place mechanism 52 includes first andsecond pivot arms 53 a, 53 b, extending horizontally from a fixedvertical support 54. The first pivot arm 53 a has a first end pivotallyconnected to the support 54, and a second end to which the second pivotarm 53 b is pivotally connected. Extending upwardly from the free end ofthe second pivot arm 53 b is a cylinder 56 that accommodates avertically reciprocating rod 58 surrounded by a hollow tube, the lowerend of which terminates in a pneumatic pick-up head 60 connected by aflexible hose 62 to a pneumatic source (not shown). The reciprocatingrod 58 and tube 59 may be moved between a lowered or extended position(FIG. 2) and a raised or retracted position (FIG. 3) by any conventionalmechanism (e.g., pneumatic, electrical, electromagnetic) well-known inthe art. Thus the rod 58 and the tube 59 are in the extended positionwhen picking the items 12 off of the conveyor and when placing the items12 on the pallet 14, and they are raised to its retracted position whilethe arms 53 a, 53 b are being pivoted between the first conveyor 50 andthe pallet 14. The pick-up head 60 is advantageously configured to pickup and deposit the items 12 in pairs, but it may be configured for anydesired number within practical limits.

Once the items 12 are loaded onto the pallet 14, the pallet 14 is movedby the turret 16 to the first printing station 36. The turret orturntable 16 is driven by an electric motor (not shown) that iscontrolled to advance its rotation incrementally and sequentially, fromstation to station, as the work or process step at each station iscompleted, as is well-known in the art.

The first and second printing stations 36, 38 are substantiallyidentical, and exemplary embodiments thereof are illustrated in FIGS. 6and 7. Each of the printing stations 36, 38 is operable to apply aninked medium to a three-dimensional code formed in a predetermined areaor part of each item 12. Each of the printing stations 36, 28 comprisesa reciprocating stamping or printing head 64, a pair of pinch rollers66, a guide roller 68, and a take-up reel 70. In a preferred embodiment,the ink medium is an inked foil in the form of a tape or ribbon 72 thatis supplied from a supply reel or cartridge (not shown), and is thenpassed between the pinch rollers 66, over the guide roller 68, past theprinting head 64, and then onto the take-up reel 70. The turret orturntable 16 stopped at a rotational position in which a first item 12 aof the pair of items 12 a, 12 b on a pallet 14 is aligned under theprinting head 64 of the first printing station 36. The pallet 14 is thenraised relative to the turntable or turret 16 by the pallet-raisingmechanism 18, 20 and the printing head 64 is then lowered, pressing theinked tape 72 against a three-dimensional data matrix (e.g., athree-dimensional barcode) 74 formed in the first of the pair of items12 on the pallet 14, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The data matrix 74comprises a sequence or pattern of encoded data characters or datacells, and the ink is transferred from the tape or ribbon 72 to the datacharacters or data cells of the data matrix 74 by the application ofheat to the printing head 64 while the tape or ribbon 72 is pressedbetween the printing head 64 and the data matrix 74. As a result, alayer of ink from the tape 72 is applied to the data matrix 74, so thatthe data encoded therein can be read by an optical reader, as will bediscussed below.

FIG. 8 shows a plan view of the pallet 14 after exiting the firstprinting station 36, from which it can be seen that data matrix 74 ofthe first item 12 a of the pair of items 12 a, 12 b is now an inked (andtherefore optically visible) data matrix 74′ (the not-yet-inked datamatrix 74 of the second item 12 b being shown in phantom), while FIG. 9shows the pallet 14 after exiting the second printing station 38, inwhich the second item 12 b now has an inked data matrix 74′. The secondprinting station 38 may advantageously include one or more air nozzles(not shown) that direct a jet of pressurized air at the freshly-inkeddata matrices 74, 74′ to remove any ink that may “bridge” adjacent datacharacters or data cells as a result of the inking process.

The printing head 64 is preferably, but not necessarily, pneumaticallyoperated. The pressure applied by the printing head 64 is controlled soto be maintained within a predetermined range, whereby the pressure issufficient to assure the application of a readable inking, yet is notenough to damage the items. This printing pressure can be controlled byvarious means known in the art, such as a pressure transducer (notshown). If the measured printing pressure falls outside of thepredetermined range, an alarm (not shown) is activated, and/or thesystem 10 will shut down. The upper and lower limits of the printingpressure will be dictated by the physical characteristics of the itemsto be printed, such as, for example, their material and their thicknessin the area in which the data matrix 74 is located.

Once the first item 12 a has been inked, the pallet 14 is lowered, andthe turntable or turret 16 rotates past the idle station 48 (if present)and stops at the second printing station 38, where the pallet 14 israised when the second item 12 b of the pair of items 12 a, 12 b isaligned under the printing head 64, so that the data matrix 74 of thesecond item 12 b can be inked, as discussed above and as shown in FIG.9.

It will be appreciated that a single printing station may be employed,especially in the case where only a single item 12 is presented on thepallet 14. Alternatively, either of the printing stations may bemodified, in ways that will readily suggest themselves to those skilledin the pertinent arts, to print two or more items simultaneously. Asanother alternative, three or more printing stations may be employed,each inking one or more of a like number of items on each pallet 14.

After the data matrices 74 of the items 12 a, 12 b on the pallet 14 havebeen inked to render them optically readable, as described above, thepallet 14 is lowered, and the turntable or turret 16 rotates to move thepallet 14 to the liquid agent application station 40, an exemplaryembodiment of which is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. At the liquid agentapplication station 40, the turntable or turret 16 is stopped, and thepallet 14 is raised. A liquid agent (e.g., a silicone release agent) isthen simultaneously applied to the items 12 a, 11 b, preferably by aspray applied through one or more spray heads 76. Preferably, there areat least four to six spray heads 76, with two or three spray heads 76directed at various angles toward each of the items 12 a, 12 b, as shownin FIG. 11. The use of multiple spray heads 76 allows substantially theentire surface of each item 12 a, 12 b to be covered with the sprayedagent.

The application of the liquid agent is carefully controlled to assurethat each item is adequately coated with the agent without wasting theagent. For example, the liquid agent is supplied to the spray heads 76from a tank or reservoir (not shown) through tubing 77. Once the levelof the release agent in the tank or reservoir reaches a predeterminedminimum level, the spray station, an alarm (not shown) may be activated,and/or the liquid agent application station 40 is shut down to allow thetank or reservoir to be re-filled or replaced.

The operation of the spray heads 76 to assure proper application of theliquid agent is controlled by flow meters 78 and pressure transducers 79that are operatively associated with the spray heads 76 to measure theflow rate and application pressure, respectively, of the sprayed agent.If either the measured flow rate or the measured spray pressure is aboveor below preset upper and lower flow rate and pressure limits,respectively, an alarm (not shown) may be activated, and/or the liquidagent application station 40 is shut down. The spray data (particularlythe flow rate) for each spraying operation are advantageously conveyedby the appropriate transducer(s), through means such as a local areanetwork (LAN), to a computer system (not shown) for storage in a systemmemory to create a spray parameter log for a predetermined time period.The log contains the spray data correlated to the time of each sprayapplication, and it may be monitored to assure that each item isproperly sprayed. From this information, any item that is determined tohave had an insufficient spray agent application may be noted forspecial treatment and/or removal from the system.

After spraying, the pallet 14 is lowered and the turntable or turret 16is rotated to the barcode reading station 42, where the inked datamatrices 74 are read by one or more (preferably two) optical readers 80(e.g., vision cameras), as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. The optical readers80 read the information encoded in each data matrix 74, and theytransmit electronic signals indicative of the information (e.g. by meansof the above-noted LAN) to a memory-stored database in the above-notedcomputer system (not shown). This information can be used, for example,to verify information already stored in the database, or to enter newinformation into the database, or to compare the optically readinformation with pre-stored information in the database. For example,the read information may be used to verify that the items 12 on thepallet 14 are to be used in further manufacturing processes (e.g. dentalaligner fabrication) to be performed that day.

It will be appreciated that code reading station 42 may be locatedbefore the liquid agent application station 40 (and after the printingstations 36, 38), rather than after the liquid agent applicationstation.

After reading the data matrices 74 on the items 12 and extracting theencoded data, the turntable or turret 16 rotates the pallet 14 to theunloading station 44, where the items 12 are removed from the pallet 14and placed on a second conveyor 82. At the unloading station 44, thepallet is raised to its raised position, as described above, and asecond pick-and-place mechanism 84 (FIG. 1) removes the items 12 fromthe pallet 14 and places them on the second conveyor 82. The secondpick-and-place mechanism 84 is substantially identical to theabove-described first pick-and-place mechanism 52 employed in theabove-described loading station 34, as shown in FIGS. 2-6. Accordingly,second the pick-and-place mechanism 84 employed at the unloading station44 needs no further description. The second conveyor 82 may include RFIDpallets 85, and the items 12, by virtue of identification informationtransmitted to the database at the reading station 44, may be mapped toa location/position on the RFID pallet 85. The mapped item positions mayalso be stored in the database, and, as the RFID pallets 85 are tracked,the computer system will “know” which items 12 are on each RFID pallet85 on the second conveyor 82, and at which location on the RFID pallet85.

After unloading the items 12 at the unloading station 44, the turntableor turret 16 is rotated to the cleaning station 46 (FIGS. 14-16), wherethe pallet 14 is wiped clean of any residual or excess spraying agent.The cleaning station 46 includes a plurality of wiper or scraper blades86 attached to a cross-bar 87 at the end of a wiper pivot arm 88, whichmay be electrically or pneumatically operated. The pallet 14 is thenreturned to the loading station 34 by rotation of the turntable orturret 16.

FIG. 17 shows an alternate system 10′ in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the items aretransported from a first conveyor line 50′, incrementally through theseveral stations, to a second conveyor line 82′, by a linear transportconveyor 90. In the context of this disclosure, the term “linear” ismeant to include not only a straight line, but any arrangement in whichthe items are conveyed from the first conveyor to the second conveyor bya transport mechanism that has separate and noncontiguous starting andending points, and that does not include a rotary turret or turntableand the like. Thus, the linear transport conveyor 90 may be a conveyorbelt or line, or any suitable equivalent. In this embodiment, a loadingstation 34′ picks items off of the first conveyor 50′, and places themon the linear transport conveyor 90. The items are transported to one ormore printing stations 36′, where the barcodes are inked as describedabove. From there, the items are delivered to a liquid agent applicationstation 40′ for the application of a sprayed agent, as described above.The items are the delivered to a code reading station 42′ for thescanning of the inked barcodes, as described above. As in the abovedescribed rotary embodiment, the places of the code reading station andthe liquid agent application station may be switched. Finally, the itemsare delivered to an unloading station 44′, at which they are picked offof the line 90 and placed on the second conveyor 82′. Optionally, thelinear transport conveyor 90 may be cleaned by a cleaning station (notshown) to remove residual sprayed agent.

The systems 10, 10′ of the present invention are operated with asoftware algorithm that controls the various stations and that controlsthe rotation of the turntable or turret 16 or the motion of the lineartransport conveyor 90 so as to allow each station to perform itsintended operation while the turntable or turret or linear transportconveyor is stopped at that station. Such software is in a class ofautomation software that is well-known in the art, and its specificdetails would depend on the particular type of equipment or mechanismprovided at each of the stations in the system.

While the present invention is described above with respect to what iscurrently considered as preferred embodiments, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not limited to the above description. For example,the application of the liquid agent to the items, if performed at all,may be performed by means other than spraying, such as dipping orbrushing or any other suitable process that may suggest itself.Likewise, the inking of the barcodes may be performed by brushing or anyother suitable process that is known in the art or that may subsequentlysuggest itself. Such modifications, variations, and uses of equivalentmechanisms and processes are deemed to be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

1. A system for the automated processing of items, each of whichincorporates information encoded in a three-dimensional code formed inthe item, the system comprising: a printing mechanism operable to applyan ink medium to the three-dimensional code to form anoptically-readable code; a code-reading mechanism operable to read theoptically readable code and to transmit a signal indicative of the codeto a database; and a transport mechanism operable to transport the itemsfrom the printing mechanism to the code-reading mechanism.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes a rotary turntable.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism is a lineartransport mechanism.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the printingmechanism comprises: a ribbon or tape provided with the ink medium; anda stamping head operable to press the ribbon or tape against thethree-dimensional code of an item when the item is transported to theprinting mechanism.
 5. The system of claim 1, further comprising aliquid agent application mechanism operable to apply a liquid agent toeach item after the printing mechanism has applied the inking medium. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes aplurality of pallets on which the items are placed for transport to theprinting mechanism, and from the printing mechanism to the code-readingmechanism.
 7. The system of claim 6, further comprising a loadingstation operable to place at least one item onto each of the pallets. 8.The system of claim 5 wherein the liquid agent application mechanismincludes a spray head operable to spray the liquid agent onto the items.9. The system of claim 4, wherein the stamping head is operable at astamping pressure that is maintained within a predetermined pressurerange.
 10. A method for the automated processing of items, each of whichincorporates information encoded in a three-dimensional code formed inthe item, the method comprising: applying an ink medium to thethree-dimensional code to render the code optically readable; opticallyscanning the optically readable code to create an electronic signalindicative of the code; and transmitting the signal to a computerdatabase.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising applying aliquid agent to the item after the inked medium has been applied to thethree-dimensional code.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprisingapplying a liquid agent to the item after the optically readable codehas been scanned.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the liquid agentis applied by spraying.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the sprayingis performed at controlled pressure and flow rate.
 15. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the liquid agent is applied by spraying.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the spraying is performed at controlledpressure and flow rate.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein the inkmedium is applied by pressing an inked tape or ribbon against thethree-dimensional code.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the itemsare processed in pairs, and wherein the ink medium is first applied tothe three-dimensional code of a first one of each pair, and then appliedto the three-dimensional code of a second one of each pair.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising applying a liquid agent to theitems in each pair simultaneously after the ink medium is applied to thethree-dimensional code of the second item in each pair.
 20. The methodof claim 19, wherein the liquid agent is applied by spraying.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, wherein the spraying is performed at controlledpressure and flow rate.
 22. A system for the automated processing ofitems, each of which incorporates information encoded in athree-dimensional code formed in the item, the system comprising: aplurality of movable pallets; a loading mechanism operable to load atleast one item on each of the pallets as each pallet is moved to theloading mechanism; a printing mechanism operable to apply an ink mediumto the three-dimensional code of each item on each pallet to form anoptically-readable code on each item on a pallet when each pallet ismoved to the printing mechanism; a code-reading mechanism operable toread the optically readable code on the items on each pallet and totransmit a signal indicative of the code to a database when each palletis moved to the code-reading mechanism; and a transport mechanismoperable to move each pallet from the loading mechanism to the printingmechanism, and from the printing mechanism to the code-readingmechanism.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the loading mechanism isoperable to load at least first and second items on each pallet, andwherein the printing mechanism is operable to apply the ink mediumsequentially to the first item and then to the second item.
 24. Thesystem of claim 22, further comprising a liquid agent applicationmechanism that receives the pallets after the printing mechanism andthat is operable to apply a liquid agent to each the item on eachpallet.
 25. The system of claim 23, further comprising a liquid agentapplication mechanism that receives the pallets after the printingmechanism and that is operable to apply a liquid agent to the first andsecond items simultaneously.
 26. The system of claim 24, wherein theliquid agent application mechanism includes a spray head directed ateach item on each pallet.
 27. The system of claim 25, wherein the liquidagent application mechanism includes a spray head directed at each ofthe first and second items so as to spray the liquid agent onto each ofthe first and second items simultaneously.
 28. The system of claim 22,further comprising an unloading mechanism, wherein the transportmechanism is operable to move each pallet from the code readingmechanism to the unloading mechanism, and wherein the unloadingmechanism is operable to remove the at least one item from each of thepallets.